Magic Items

[Starship]

One more quick thought before my lunch is up....

A drop funcion, and pick up function might need to be implemented. Say it's a characteristic of the hero promotion...that way you don't have grunts picking up legendary stuff. Or I guess the grunt could pick it up too, and then become legendary? At any rate this would keep relics from being lost again, as with certain circumstances with Orthus's axe, if that's what you wanted...kind of interesting that the relic might be lost again like the one ring too though...Just my .02

 

[ogredpowell]

Hammer of the Brokenthane: Only usable by runes of kilmorph (dwarvern hammer- more backround if youd like). If one of your cities is captured/razed, can 'build' the hammer to give to a unit. This hammer gives a % strength increase, as well as a 'frenzy' ability- if the unit with the hammer kills another unit, it becomes enraged (for one turn),the ability to attack again that turn, and iff it kills a unit belonging to the civ that conquered/razed the city, it also regains a movement point. I think it could add to the vengeful spirit of dwarves when wronged/angered, and provides a good way for a weaker civ being invaded to repulse its invaders. -edit- i was finalizing the lore behind the hammer, and another part that could be added to it is the 'passing on' of the hammer. If the bearer dies(the only way to pass it on) it goes to the unit of the next highest experience level. It brings with it all the promotions the prior owner earned with the hammer (the lore includes each bearer of the hammer recording how he/she is wronged, and his/her quest for vengence, and the result thereof).-edit-

Covenant of the Crusader: Sword, must regain from demon? (more backround if you like). Gaining sword puts the new owner of the sword at war with ALL 'evil' religions (ie the veil and overlords) as well as the infernal and calabim civ(maybe evil civs in general?). Losing the sword allows the owner to make peace with evil religions again. This sword grants a HUGE strength percentage bonus against demonic, undead, and religion specific units (such as 'priest' units) of the overlords and the veil, and a large NEGATIVE bonus against 'good' religions (runes, order). Also, owning the sword forces you to have the Order ast the state religion (or lose unit of the sword). If the unit wielding the sword conquers a city, there is a percentage chance that the order spreads to the city (if it is not in the city already). If the city does not convert, it is razed. This could add an interestingcrusade mechanic- civilization/unit made holy champion of Junil to remove the corrupted influence, must continue the holy crusade to retain champion. -edit- or, if the civilization bearing the covenant makes peace with an 'evil' civ, the unit with the covenant becomes a barbarian and attacks its former owner for failing to fulfil the covenant with Junil, representing a punishment for failing the contract - edit-

Gift of the Soul-devourer- (again, more lore backround if youd like) Dagger, must be veil/overlords to use. Early in game- prehaps to whomever founds the veil or overlords? Grants the unit with the dagger the ability to cast all 3 levels of the death, fire, and entropy spheres (maybe others). However, the cost of the power is the soul. Every spell cast either requires a STIFF health penalty (like 50 percent damage, or each successive spell costs more health, eventually killing the unit. damage from casting is unhealable), or can sacrifice a unit in order to allow the spell to be cast (maybe kill a tier one unit to allow sphere I spell, tier two for sphere II and I, et). Maybe allow sacrificing pop to allow casting as well? I think this could fit in well with the 'magic is originaly from demons' attitude- this dagger can give great power, but at great cost to oneself or one's civilization. -edit- maybe multiple tier 1 units (say, 3 tier one units) could be sacrificed for a sphere II spell, 6 for a tier 3 spell, three tier two units for a tier two spell, etc...) - edit-

 

[loki1232]

The crown might yet be "saved" by a slight alteration to the background story. If it was altered so that the orcs did not flee, but instead bowed down to him, aknowledging him as a ruler, it could probably have a somewhat different mechanic.
The crown could then grant the same effect as the Barbarian trait(except the research penalty) to the civ that controls it. They would be at peace with the barbarians as long as one of their units held the crown.

For the Clan and Dolviello leaders which are already at peace with the barbarians, it might have some other effect. Perhaps it could grant them control of a certain % of barbarian units/settlements.

In a game with large landmass and raging barbarians turned on, I imagine the crown would become a very sought-after artifact.

EDIT: Perhaps the Crown also gives a boost in diplomatic relations with the Clan

I like these ideas. Except for the Clan and Doviello, maybe they should just get +20% science to make up for the barb trait loss of science.

 

[Xanikk999]

"The amulet of learning"

(Can only be used by mage units)

What ever unit has this amulet can copy/learn other units spells when they are attacked by them. (aka Final fantasy style!)

Feel free to edit it however you want if you want to use it.
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"Sword of evil destruction"

(Can only be used by evil civs)

When a unit has this item whenever it attacks it causes collateral damage also.
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"Medallion of training"

Whatever unit has this item gains 1 xp/turn plus an extra xp whenever it whens a battle.
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"Tools of the gods"

Up to 5 workers can use these tools and when they use it they work twice as fast.

 

[Olliff]

Saber of the Sands- Transforms the terrain that the unit is attacking to desert. 50% defense bonus on desert tiles.

Jewel of Incomptence- Item is automatically used when attacking an enemy city. Grants -50% tech research for 40 turns for the infected city.

Elfbane Medallion (can only be obtained by evil civs)- All Elven civs declare war on the owner. All Elven production is reduced by 10%. All Elven resarch is slowed by 5%. All Elven commerce(gold prod.) is reduced by 5%.

[can be exchnaged for other races if needed]

Brutestone Hammer-(only attainable by barbarians) Production is increased by 20%. Research is slowed by 5%. Commerce(gold prod.) is reduced by 5%.

Any idea may be modified if needed.

 

[Nikis-Knight]

Here's a mechanic for a cursed item, take and give a story or leave it
Armor of Bravado--Small or moderate combat bonus. When ever this unit is in a stack that is attacked, this will be the unit that defends, despite health and relative strength. Automatically earned by whoever defeats this unit.

 

[Kael]

Here's a mechanic for a cursed item, take and give a story or leave it
Armor of Bravado--Small or moderate combat bonus. When ever this unit is in a stack that is attacked, this will be the unit that defends, despite health and relative strength. Automatically earned by whoever defeats this unit.

I like this idea. I may steal is as a unit ability. Some Shieldbearer that always defends stacks it is in.

 

[Kael]

One more quick thought before my lunch is up....

A drop funcion, and pick up function might need to be implemented. Say it's a characteristic of the hero promotion...that way you don't have grunts picking up legendary stuff. Or I guess the grunt could pick it up too, and then become legendary? At any rate this would keep relics from being lost again, as with certain circumstances with Orthus's axe, if that's what you wanted...kind of interesting that the relic might be lost again like the one ring too though...Just my .02

Thats scheduled for "Shadow", when equipment will be implemented.

 

[Gyromancer]

There's so much variety in the game in terms of spells, wonders, etc. It seems like only 5 or so magic items might seem limiting. Assuming you come up with more than five, how about making whether they actually appear in a game random? I'm assuming they'll start on barbarian units or with guardians in general, so it'll be a matter of either determining at time of trigger or at the start of the game if the item and its guardian actually appear.

Hmmm... The more I think about it, maybe Orthus (and his axe) would seem even more special if he didn't appear in every game. And if his appearance wasn't announced to all the world.


Here's my stab at some magic items:

Instant Fortress-- Creates a fort (or something better) in the square and then disappears. Any unit in the square gets a special ability: Deactivate Fortress-- Fort disappears and the unit gains the item. Usable only in open land squares, not cities. Could destroy improvements on the square.

EDIT-- heck, this item could actually start as a terrain feature.... with lots of baddies in it


Book of the Damned-- Used by units with sorcery/channeling. Gives unit "read book" ability. If used, gives a 25% chance of instant death, gives a random spell promotion (maybe from a restricted list, like death, entropy, chaos,...) also gives a 10 % chance of unit being "doomed" every turn the item is carried. (Doomed units have a 10% chance of dying each turn) The extra promotion would be cumulative, and available even to units without the corresponding levels in Sorcery/Channeling (so you could have your new adept read it twice and gain death III) He'd be a stud if he made it to archmage (if he lives that long...*snicker*) You could tinker with the whole doomed thing and make it more ominous-- maybe doomed is a 2% chance of death each turn, carrying it gives you a 10% chance of being doomed, and reading it automatically dooms you. I'd keep the insta death thing though, otherwise it'd be too valuable to a player needing a quick boost for a war.

 

[Zuffox]

Hmmm....Unique.

Ok. How about a special one on the map resource...warpstone, meteorite...etc...

Claiming this resource would be the only way to produce a legendary weapon,
the dragon lance, only usable by a cavalry unit, and the production would destroy the resource.

The weapon itself would give +%, against dragons, but also have a command ability over dragons, There might be a 33% chance a dragon defeated with the lance actually doesn't die, and instead agrees to bow before the slayer, and the unit is upgraded to the one and only in game dragon knight. With the exception of the egg idea idea I put in the quests thread, but that's another mechanic.

Another way to do it would be to plant a mythical forge - that, as an extra addition, would require one or several components for an item to be created. It could also be necessary to use a unique hammer for the process as seen in Diablo 2 with Hephastos (completely stolen from the Greek god Hephaistus).

 

[Xereq]

Yeah we considered being very granular with equipment early on. If you had access to the Deer resource you could build a leatherworker that produced Leather. With access to Cotton you could build a Tailor that produced Cloth. With access to Cloth and Leather an armorer could build Leather Vests.

Leather vests would be equiped to all of your units (or bought, or allowed upgraded units). Similiar processes were designed for different sorts of weapons and armor.

In the end it is a really fun system to design but not that fun to play as it causes a lot of micromangement for casual players (though I will admit there is a segment of the players that would love it and if someone did a mod like this it would probably attack a decent group of loyal fans).

So for FfH we decided to keep to a small group of unique artifacts. Any more and its overloaded. I wrote a little about it in the 'Why are you here' letter to the design team when we started phase 2 (the more is worse section).

edit: dang, and I was getting so good at beating Chalid to posts lately. Oh and good point about the Luchuirp, that is a better place to work in mechanics like this.

Could you not make this configurable in the ini, so that hardcore players could turn it on but it would not effect casual players? This would open the door for a "hardcore patch" that could be applied over the game, with features that could be turned on and off, that dowloads seperatly so that casual players don't have to bother with it. You could get as crazy as you want with options, just litterally go nuts!

 

[Kael]

Could you not make this configurable in the ini, so that hardcore players could turn it on but it would not effect casual players? This would open the door for a "hardcore patch" that could be applied over the game, with features that could be turned on and off, that dowloads seperatly so that casual players don't have to bother with it. You could get as crazy as you want with options, just litterally go nuts!

Yes, but its a lot of coding for a feature that only a portion of the community would use. As compared to going through and making the dwarven civ more interesting, which everyone would appreicate.

 

[Xereq]

Heres an expansion of an idea:
Instead of magic items as promotions that are passed on to the unit that kills the bearer immeadiatly, you could 'capture' the weapon like you capture slaves or animals. The weapon could appear floating with an aura in the center of the tile it is spawned in (kinda like a fireball), be immobile, and have an ability that 'equips' the item to a unit, granting the promotion, as well as granting to ability to 'deequip' spawning the equip again. This could also allow you to build 'artifact weapons' as legendary units. A more developed version of the other guys idea.
This could also be used to grand temporary items, Items that give a promotion or effect for a limmited durration and don't respawn.

 

[Kael]

Heres an expansion of an idea:
Instead of magic items as promotions that are passed on to the unit that kills the bearer immeadiatly, you could 'capture' the weapon like you capture slaves or animals. The weapon could appear floating with an aura in the center of the tile it is spawned in (kinda like a fireball), be immobile, and have an ability that 'equips' the item to a unit, granting the promotion, as well as granting to ability to 'deequip' spawning the equip again. This could also allow you to build 'artifact weapons' as legendary units. A more developed version of the other guys idea.
This could also be used to grand temporary items, Items that give a promotion or effect for a limmited durration and don't respawn.

Yeah, thats the plan for the equipment class that will be created in "Shadow".

 

[Oldfrt]

some ideas... yes, some already are in spells....

Staff of mobility.
Allows bearer to transport a single unit (of lesser strength/level?) that is located in the same tile, to any location within <bearers level/strength> number of tiles.

Necklace of the Lich King.
Allows bearer to drain 10% health from each unit in the same tile. Bearer gains +5% attack for each 10% drawn. Only usable when Bearers attack is <= normal max.

Ring of Stone.
All units in the same tile get -2 movement but gain the Stoneskin advantage when used.

Staff of retribution.
When used will destroy 75% of units in targetted tile (no save) by quantity (ie, 4 units in the city, 3 get destroyed - no xp gain though). Will also destroy the same number of bearers units (randomly selected across civilization). (Ouch).

Knurled Nut of Scape
When used will transform bearer into an armoured figure with +150% attack. However, after use, even if bearer survives combats, strength is reduced TO 10% of normal.

Globe of Pain
When used will inflict 25% damage to all units in bearers tile. Each turn effect will spread outwards. Can only be used once while effect is in progress (ie, it will travel around the world effecting EVERY unit).

Sword of equality.
Bearer selects tile to be effected. All units in the tile are averaged to the same strength.

 

[Gileyal]

I think the name is a little confusing.

 

[Samuelson]

Globe of Pain
When used will inflict 25% damage to all units in bearers tile. Each turn effect will spread outwards. Can only be used once while effect is in progress (ie, it will travel around the world effecting EVERY unit).

I really like this idea. It could go around the entire world as a ring like a shockwave effect. Maybe it could get weaker and eventually die out. Or maybe just the opposite, and it could become an armegeddon wonder or equipment that will infinitely keep going around the world and maybe even getting stronger until the game ends, or until another counter wonder or equipment stops it.

 

[Moon Hunter]

Mjolnir

if a unit equipped with the mjolnir defeats a unit in a stack, all the units suffer movement penalty as per entangling spell
also maybe allow for collateral damage upto 10%

 

[Xereq]

Tenebrin's Stave (the eclipse)
Flavah: Tenebrin was a great mage who once cast a spell so mighty it blotted out the sun for miles around. He traded his mortal soul and flesh for the stuff of shadow, it both weakened him and gave him extrordinary rejuvanative powers. The fucus of both of those spells was his staff. It is unique in all the world, coposed of intertwining strands of magically solidified shadows. When grasped it casts the spells of Tenebrin upon the wielder.
Game effect: something like -20% strength, +20% healing rate for equipped unit. this unit, and all friendly cities/improvements/units within one square of it are covered by fog of war, even within enemy cultural borders.

 

[Jono]

I don't know if this has been suggested or not (I'm assuming it hasn't as everyone seems to like elves so much), but how about a sword that gives +20% combat against elves and immunity to all nature magic? maybe it could spread a certain religion while in leaves land aswell (ofcourse it would be restricted to that religion). You could probably think of a backstory for this sword...

Another idea I have is for an ancient bounty hunter armour set, scattered around the lands (probably barbarians)... Origin: probably Hippus. Every piece could make the user insane with power and eventually become a barbarian (unless maybe you could add a new feature to the game, loyalty). If the user is loyal enough, he will overcome his insanity and will be upgraded to a hero (not one that can be build in a city). If not, well he'll become a barbarian. Maybe every time a piece changes hands it could gain some sort of upgrade (if possible, 1/3 of it by religion 1/3 by race and 1/3 by civ)...

I'll make a more organized list of items when I get back from school...